The Armour Archive

Noe

I'm still working on these guys. The great thing is that, if we nail this contract, there will be 50+ characters who all need independent and destinct guards, weapons, and fighting styles. Whoopee! This has the makings of being a deeply cool job, if I can just get us signed. I can live with fantasy ...

Noe

A game design company here in Tokyo wants to work with me to design fighting styles for their characters. It sounds great -- heck, if we can finalize the details (like pay) -- it could be a dream job. There's just one little hurdle I have to cross: their expectations. Although they came to me asking...

Noe

Made some knees out of 18 guage. They have been holding up fairly well under regular (ab)use. It's not that 18 guage won't protect you; it's that it deteriorates quickly and requires more maintainence. ------------------ The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the inability to understand why ev...

Noe

Thanks for the kind words, folks. Ron, thank you for your offer. I'm just trying to figure out how to get cash to you for shipping. You are right about one thing, though; the newbies are the ones who go through the shields. I'm still not decided about what to do in the long term. Have no fear; shoul...

Noe

I have finally come to the realization that, if I don't purchase an aluminum shield, I'm just not going to get any sword and shield practice. I've tried to make a go with wooden ones, but they are, as intended, frangible, and the lag time between replacement is such that I can go up to 6 months with...

Noe

Overhand (point down) dagger Overhand spear (and shield) Half sword Pole arm with the thumbs inward grip Hopes new method (actually pretty applicable to SCAdian fighting) German Fechtbuch grappling (We've decided that any technique that doesn't seem to result in compound fractures and/or exploding e...

Noe

say, what's a good weight to buy for general SCA armouring?

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The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the inability to understand why everyone else is not a fanatic.

Noe

Frankly, although I recommend beginners start sword and board, I give them a lot of respect if they pick a "silly" weapon and stick with it. We've got a guy like that now. All he is interested in is pole arm. He loses a lot, but pole arm is what he wants. I'm cool with that. It's odd, but in our gro...

Noe

I have had the opportunity to check out a lot of Depeeka stuff firsthand, armour and weapons. Judgement on both: yucko, although I will grant that the Roman era stuff was slightly better. Frankly, I wouldn't waste my money on it. ------------------ The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the in...

Noe

That, folks, is a fashion statement.

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The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the inability to understand why everyone else is not a fanatic.

Noe

Um, short fighters are so usual in Avalon that we have a special selection of small-sized loaner armour, just for them. Let's put it like this: When I made the legs for them, I used the elbow cop pattern from the archive without changing the size. Lord Fox, the smallest of our number, has a waist th...

Noe

I now have no trouble believing it.

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The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the inability to understand why everyone else is not a fanatic.

Noe

Gee Ron, you have managed to triple your workspace over what you had in Japan. I'm envious. BTW: You will be pleased to know that Corey bought your crusader helm (fire blackened, rounded face) from Ken. With his tabard and riveted mail, he is scoring about a thousand pimp points. ------------------ ...

Noe

>Last time I made a Kettlehat I started with >a round pattern. After I cut it out and >shaped it, I recognized, that noone has a >round head : How wrong you are. Send it out to us. Half off our members are Japanese and have heads like bowling balls. I'm currently working on a helm deliberately desig...

Noe

And unlike Irish, who was smart enough to wear plate, I thought I should go with minimum armour just to be sure it would be safe for everyone. Note to self: In future weapons tests, start with the plate, and later move to the lighter armour. ------------------ The defining characteristic of fanatici...

Noe

11/4" to 1 1/3 rattan, with an SCA legal head. About 6' long. Believe me, no one was more surprised than I at the force with which it struck. I was pretty disappointed; I had hoped that we would be able to do it in combat. We were looking to practice some of the fechtbuch longsword and spear duellin...

Noe

Ow! I volunteered to be a target dummy to see how well it would work to throw rattan spears. Even a rather gentle throw came in with quite a bit of force. We quickly decided that, as tolerant as we are, that one just wasn't going to play. ------------------ The defining characteristic of fanaticism ...

Noe

So far, I have gone through three versions, and I prefer a four point attachment with a chin cup. Very strong, won't come off, and a face thrust will hardly budge it.

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The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the inability to understand why everyone else is not a fanatic.

Noe

It's an extremely silly game derived from a Rutger Hauer movie about people who play what is essentially gladatorial football. The "ball" in question is a fake dog's skull, and you try to put it on a stake at the end of the field. The only person who can carry the skull is a runner, who is armed wit...

Noe

Great job, Ceawlin. Those Mandrake gaunts are definitely the way to go. I still use a pair from his old pattern. It looks like his new one offers even better thumb protection. And now, thanks to you, I have a better idea of how to make a box thumb that a buddy of mine wants for his gaunts. We too la...

Noe

Coolie. It sounds like everyone is getting some exercise. I hope when I go back to the states, I end up somewhere that has practices like I'm hearing about. I have a talent for ending up in the middle of nowhere. ------------------ The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the inability to unders...

Noe

Here in Tokyo, there are two practices, but they are far enough apart that it is difficult to attend both. The wednesday night practice, at Zama, is about two hours, about an hour of which is fighting because you have to armour up at the beginning and pack up at the end. The Sunday practice is like ...

Noe

I would say that you could drop the weapon to avoid being struck, but that you should immediately yield the fight. This sort of situation comes up all the time in Avalon (yeah, I know all 15 of us, but still http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/smile.gif ) Well, actually, what happens is sort of like wh...

Noe

Hey Ron, cool stuff. The guys back here will be amused to hear that you are as compulsive as ever. Say, are you going to wear that bevor with your sallet?

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The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the inability to understand why everyone else is not a fanatic.

Noe

Well, that is definitely a way to take care of the problem. I wish I could utilize it. Unfortunately, I lack a welder. Nevertheless, I'm going to file that away for future notice. ------------------ The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the inability to understand why everyone else is not a f...

Noe

So I'm working on my first helm, and it is going well enough, until I get to the lid (I'm using sinric's kindly donated pattern). When I try to fold the edge over -- and I am taking it as slowly as possible -- the whole top plate warps way out of true. Any suggestions for smoothly folding over the t...

Noe

Nope. In my experience, in something like this I am better off with several layers of sinew than one thick cord. Even if it does wear through eventually, it's no big thing to sew it back. Of course, I'm prejudiced. I consider artificial sinew to be right up there with duct tape. http://www.armourarc...

Noe

When you are trying to be authentic, gorgets are one of the trickier bits. Many forms of armour don't have SCA legal neck and throat protection. To compensate, it seems as though almost everyone goes with either a dog collar or a spanish collar. I wanted something a little different and went with a ...

Noe

Hmm. Fighter number two is striking with his false edge.

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The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the inability to understand why everyone else is not a fanatic.

Noe

Oh yes, Avalon has instituted a new policy with the goal of improved practice attendence. We recently voted to become the official sport of Tokyo's hostess girls and strippers. I have high hopes for this one. ------------------ The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the inability to understand...

Noe

It's 18 guage stainless. I hate rolling stainless; I always seem to crack it.

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The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the inability to understand why everyone else is not a fanatic.

Noe

I'm looking to roll the armpit edges of a breastplate, and I'm terrified of cracking the edge. Is there anything I can do to minimize my chance of screwing up?

Thanks.

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The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the inability to understand why everyone else is not a fanatic.

Noe

Er, I have to admit that I also had a list of folks who needed to be called on the morning of practice. Since we started practice at 9:00, and there were people who needed a few hours to get to the site, I had to get up a bit earlier than I would prefer, but hey. Oh yes, when you call people, try to...

Noe

Yes, that's me, the master of passive aggressive motivational speaking. (bows) Actually, the most effective thing that I ever did to improve practice turnout was to ask people if they minded being pestered. You know, the people who want to come, but need a little nudge to get going. Then every thurs...

Noe

When you make a breastplate -- say early 15th century Italian -- how far down should the breastplate reach? Just above your hip bones? Just below your ribs? Right at your belly button? Or maybe I should just take a knife and whack my love handles off. Grr. ------------------ The defining characteris...

Can you be more tricky? (Dealing with the clueless)

aluminum shields and my wuss factor

Historical Fighting styles that I have developed respect for

Using rattan SCA spears as thrown weapons -- test results

What is the average length of your fighter practice?

Putting the lid on a great helm

My new standard - pics

Please someone, keep me from screwing up a breastplate

Breastplate measurements